"It is an insult to the intelligence of the American people to say that we will be vulnerable unless we grant immunity for actions that happened years ago," Mr. Reyes wrote in a letter to President Bush. By "actions" he means the cooperation with U.S. intelligence by private telecom companies after 9/11, for which the companies now face more than 40 lawsuits. ...

"What is the big payoff for the telephone companies? They get paid a lot of money? No. They get paid nothing. What do they get for this? They get $40 billion worth of suits, grief, trashing, but they do it. But they don't have to do it, because they do have shareholders to respond to, to answer to."

We've long held that a President doesn't need a court order under the Constitution to order such wiretaps. But the reality is that, because of these lawsuits, the telephone companies now won't cooperate without the legal protection of a court order. That's how pernicious these lawsuits are.

Warfare is obsolete. Today we have lawfare. Maybe that's an indicator of the advance of civilization.

'George Smiley' at In From the Cold comments on former CIA official Jack Devine's suggestion to hit the "undo" button on intelligence reform. Devine argues the 'reforms' have just made responsibilities murkier.

Nonetheless, Congress easily passed the measure, which afforded the DNI only limited authority over the 16 agencies in the intelligence community. The legislation simply didn't give the DNI the budgetary muscle needed to lead the intelligence community, and it created a troublesome confusion here and abroad regarding precisely who is in charge.

Today, the DNI has become what intelligence professionals feared it would: an unnecessary bureaucratic contraption with an amazingly large staff. It certainly had to be taken as a lack of confidence in the DNI's viability when its first occupant, John Negroponte, stepped down to become second in command at the State Department.”

'George Smiley' thinks part of the problem is self-inflicted and that things would get better if intelligence concentrated on detecting instead of setting national policy.

The Boston Globe reports on the latest problem to afflict university admissions directors. Sometimes the application seems too polished to be authentic.

As college admissions officers sift through thousands of application essays penned by eager-to-please high school seniors, they increasingly encounter writing that sparkles a bit too brightly or shows a poise and polish beyond the years of a typical teenager.

With the scramble to get into elite colleges at a fever pitch and with a rising number of educational consultants and college essay specialists ready to give students a competitive edge, admissions officers are keeping a sharp lookout for essays that might have had an undue adult influence. In some admissions offices, such submissions receive the dubious distinction DDI, short for "Daddy Did It."

Someone should write a follow up article on what happens to daddies who refuse.

Gateway Pundit notes comments on a Reuters story. The operative words below are "work" and "done".

Mr. Geldof praised Mr. Bush for his work in delivering billions to fight disease and poverty in Africa, and blasted the U.S. press for ignoring the achievement. Mr. Bush, said Mr. Geldof, "has done more than any other president so far."

I'm not surprised. The press missed the Rwanda genocide too, maybe because it happened under the term of the first black President of the United States. But it still happened. Anyway Bill Clinton apologized for it. Can't we just move on?

Getting my son through three different college applications was a test of patience that I'm glad I will not--that I can foresee--need to duplicate.

Trying to overcome more than eleven years of state sponsored education in a matter of weeks proved, however, that my son is educable. As did his older brother, the concept of first draft was new to him. After convincing him that I would not review a first draft, he finally agreed to writing a first draft. We then outlined for a second draft.

Yes, I am pleased that he has been admitted to Michigan and Indiana. Kansas, too.

We're just waiting now to see who makes the best scholarship offers.

Daddy didn't do it. And Daddy wasn't sure it was going to get done. Our last application was completed and submitted forty minutes before the deadline.